Press Restaurant
Napa's Cathedral. Bring Your Credit Card.
St. Helena · St. Helena · American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 5, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You open the wine list at Press and immediately understand why Wine Spectator handed them a Grand Award. Two thousand selections, anchored in Napa Valley royalty, with enough depth to make any serious wine drinker feel like they've stumbled into a very well-stocked private cellar. The room matches: warm, polished, and confident without being stuffy.
Selection Deep Dive
This is Napa doing Napa — and doing it better than almost anyone else in the valley. Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Dalla Valle Maya, Bryant Family, Shafer Hillside Select — the cult wine hall of fame is all here and accounted for. Heitz Cellar Martha's Vineyard and Dominus Estate anchor the list with serious historical credibility alongside the flashier names. If your tastes run outside Cabernet-dominant California, you'll find the list a bit myopic, but that's the point — this is a shrine to Napa, not a world tour.
By the Glass
Around 20-30 pours on any given night, which is a solid rotation for a list this size. Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs makes an appearance at $68 a glass — expensive, but this is St. Helena, not a sports bar. The by-the-glass program pulls from serious producers, so you're not stuck with filler while your table debates which $400 bottle to open.
Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 2019 — $68
In a room full of three-digit Cabernets, the Schramsberg is a relative breather. It's a genuinely great California sparkling wine from one of the state's best producers — and it's the kind of thing you'd actually want to start a meal with before the heavy Napa reds take over.
Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
In a lineup crowded with cult names that move on hype and auction prices, Spottswoode tends to get overlooked. It's a St. Helena estate with a long track record of understated, elegant Cabernet that actually rewards patience in the glass — order it while everyone else is fighting over the Screaming Eagle allocation.
Rombauer Chardonnay 2022
At $92 a bottle, you're paying a significant premium for one of the most widely distributed, reliably oaky Chardonnays in California. It's not bad wine — it's just not Press wine. That $92 can go toward something far more interesting, and frankly more appropriate to the room.
Stag's Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 + Duck breast with cherry gastrique
The Artemis has enough dark fruit and structure to stand up to the richness of duck without bulldozing the cherry gastrique — it leans into the fruit-forward profile of the dish rather than fighting it. Classic Stag's Leap restraint in a context where it actually shines.
Tuesday — Half-price wine night every Tuesday — the single best reason to plan your Napa itinerary around a midweek visit.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Press is the rare restaurant where the wine list is legitimately the main event, and the Grand Award is earned. Yes, markups run steep across the board, but you're in the heart of Napa Valley ordering cult Cabernet — Tuesday's half-price wine night is your best friend if you want to explore without the full financial commitment.
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